The Line Between Illusion and Reality
by crazytuts
Summary: To free himself from depression, Harry takes an adventure to a world where his parents are alive and has many siblings. What happens when this alternate reality is too much for him?
1. Meet the Parents

The Line Between Illusion and Reality

The world had become an adversary in Harry's eyes. Every single person depended on him to finish off Voldemort by himself, and the only way they wanted to help was by offering to make him the Ministry's puppet. Harry wasn't willing to be used like that. He didn't belong there, and until he had his infamous scar and the reputation of the Chosen One, he would never feel at home. If anyone deserved a break, it would be him, but the question was what he would do to forget everything.

A vacation sounded pleasant, where he could escape far away to an unknown island, relax, and catch some fish for dinner. The only problem with that was that someone would eventually find him. The sensors he had once been thankful for would now bite him in the back. Whatever he did, a vacation was awaiting him. There was no way he could bear to stay in Grimmauld Place anymore. Every inch of space reminded him of Sirius, sorrow, and regret. If only he hadn't run off to the Department of Mysteries, Sirius would still be alive. He would have liked to forget that thought but he just couldn't. It was like a puppy dog trailing him endlessly.

His room was the gloomiest one in his opinion, with stained walls that appeared to have been untouched for hundreds of years, and there were no portraits or posters of familiar faces to enlighten the room. It even smelled rotten.

The more Harry thought about it, the more he realized that what he wished more than anything else was to see his parents, Sirius, Dumbledore, and especially a world bereft of Voldemort and Death Eaters. He wanted to know how it felt to be raised by his parents and to be a normal teenager who had friends and played Quidditch with them every week. The only way he could do this was by calling on a Time Bender. He had actually heard of them in his third year at Hogwarts by Hermione. Yes. That was it. The only problem was that he didn't know how to call them, and he certainly didn't have any books he could research from at Grimmauld place. If he asked someone about it, they would know what he was up to. Oh, what to do…

"Er-Time Bender, I call on you." He said, feeling quite silly. Nothing happened.

"Time Bender! I summon you!" He grabbed a hold of his wand and shook it violently. Something appeared in front of his eyes. It was an old lady with the longest salt pepper colored hair he'd ever seen, which went down past her waist. Half of it was in the front, covering her ancient-looking blue cloak decorated with dusty pearls on the rims. A long pointed black hat lay on her head, towering over him like a giant.

Harry stood there open mouthed as she lifted an eye, "I believe you called?"

"Err-yeah. Are you a Time Bender?" The witch's eyebrows were white and she had wrinkles spread across her whole face, including her sagged neck. The woman must have been over five hundred years old.

"My name is Serafina, and yes, I am a Time Bender. Name your wish and I will grant it."

"How much do you take?" Harry said anxiously, hoping that the cost wouldn't be too high.

"Thirty five Galleons per month. Three hundred and seventy a year as a bargain."

"Oh." Harry thought about it for a moment. How long should he go? If he went away for a month, people would worry about him. If he told them where he was going, they would follow him after the first few days.

"If I pick a month, can I come sooner if I want to?" Harry asked.

"Certainly, but it depends on your mind. If you do not desire to return to your present time, it will not happen. Only when you truly desire it I will show up."

Oh, then he would never want to come back. Well, as long as he had control over the time, he guessed it would be alright.

"What is your wish?"

He gathered his words slowly, making sure to get the wording exactly right, "I wish to go to a world where there is no Voldemort nor Tom Riddle, no Death Eaters, and my mother Lily and my father James are alive and together. Also, my godfather Sirius Black should be alive." He dropped thirty five Galleons on her palm. She inserted it into her robe pocket and pulled out a fistful of shimmering white powder.

"Hold out your hands."

Harry obeyed her command and held them out a few inches apart. Serafina separated the powder and sprinkled it onto his hands. The powder felt cold on his skin, and as a few seconds passed, the powder rose into hazy smoke illuminating up to his face. Serafina placed her own hands above his and chanted in an unfamiliar language with her eyes shut. Light shone all around him to the point that Harry couldn't keep his eyes open from the vibrancy. Gradually, the witch facing him escaped from sight and blackness pervaded his vision.

…

Harry groaned and rubbed his forehead as he rose from his bed. He felt as if someone had just twirled him around a hundred times, causing him to faint and crash to the ground. His hands reached for his glasses on the side desk, but the glasses weren't there and neither was the desk. After he rubbed his eyes to clear his vision, he realized that he didn't need glasses to see. Everything was crystal clear to him.

Apparently, he had been living in a stranger's room. From what he could see so far, he was a cool kid. There were moving Quidditch posters spread out across all the walls, and on top of a bookshelf were small models of Snitches whizzing around a pair of Bludgers. Harry got to his feet and opened the bookshelf and gasped. There were tons of books, and as he flipped through some of them, he doubted if any of them had ever been opened. Well, some things never changed.

He took more time to look around and saw that his room was painted light red and his fluffy bed was almost as high as him. Next, he opened the lacy curtains to his window and looked out. He couldn't even see one house or car in the vicinity. All he could see were groups of trees bunched up to his far left and farther than them were sloping hills. Harry craned his neck to see the barriers of the house and noticed wide garden patches bordering the house. He guessed his mother had planted them. His mother…

Harry practically skipped down the stairs because he couldn't wait to see his mother. He could have waited for his father because he had often heard about him and seen him in Dumbledore's Penseive, but the most he could recall about his mother was from Professor Slughorn and the Potions master she had been. Before he got a chance to see her face, something else astonished him. The house was humungous. The living room could have covered three of his old bedrooms back at Grimmauld Place, because even with the couch and the fashionable chairs surrounding the interior, the room still appeared spacious. He was surprised to see an average sized television at the corner but guessed that since his mother was a Muggleborn, the house must have as many Muggle devices as Wizarding.

"Why are you up?" A voice from behind echoed in his ears. He jumped and pivoted. There stood his mother. She was much thinner than he had imagined her, with her bones sticking out of her long slender arms and out of her small kneecaps. His heart jumped from excitement as she awaited an answer.

"Boy, why are you gawking at me? What are you doing up? It's five in the morning."

Everyone had been right so far. His eyes were identical to hers. They were a shining green, dominating as the most captivating feature of her face. Her wavy red hair came past her shoulders, vibrating light similarly to her eyes.

"Er-I didn't realize what the time was. I'll go back to sleep." He was about to add Mum at the end of the sentence, but didn't because he thought it would sound too strange.

"If you want, you can work on your summer homework. I haven't seen you touch it. Your sister's done already."

Harry had barely taken one step on the staircase when he froze at her words. Sister? Since when did he have a sister? His head rushed uncontrollably, raising all types of questions. What was her name? How old was she? He wanted to know everything right then and there but he knew he had to go back upstairs. Trying not to let his emotions get the best of him, he inhaled and exhaled and went up the stairs as silently as he could, back into his room. As he walked across the hallway, something attracted his attention. He stared into the mirror at his weird self without his glasses. Harry still had his scar. He rubbed his hand over it in amazement. How and why did he still have it? Was it a signal or reminder that he still belonged in the other world where his parents weren't alive? Harry had so many questions to ask that he was scared who to ask and whether he would scare them with all these questions that he should have already known the answers to.

Time passed slowly, too slowly, and he spent his time looking over his homework that he found in his trunk. The content seemed quite familiar. He had to write an essay about Advanced Vanishing Spells and an essay on the Felix Felicis Potion. Harry remembered taking it a few months ago and he still had some of it at Grimmauld Place.

At around nine o' clock, his Mum came in with a half full basket of clothes.

"Give me your dirty clothes." She said callously, sticking out the basket in front of him.

"Uh…" Harry searched the room with his eyes for some clothes but didn't spot them. His room was unusually clean. Normally, he was a down right slob. He looked back at Mum and she pointed to the closet. He heaved it open and found another round white basket with some pants at the surface. They must have been wearing Muggle clothes during the summer. He handed it to her, receiving a strange look from his mother. She shook her head and walked out. Harry closed the door behind him and followed her down the stairs. The house was alive now, much too alive. There were a set of twins eating scrambled eggs on the kitchen table. They didn't look like girls to him. They were young boys, about the age of six. They had inherited Mum's auburn hair, reminding him of Fred and George. Both of them were spilling their orange juice and eggs as they clumsily ate.

"Clint. Mase. Hurry up and then take a bath. We have Diagon Alley waiting for us."

So there were four children in the family, including him. He was astonished. Harry had never imagined his mother would have more children after him. Hadn't he been enough? Now that he thought about it, she seemed less of a mother and more like a housemaid. She hadn't said one nice thing to him and she didn't have that generous personality that he had dreamed of for the past seventeen years. Well, having four kids must have put a damper on her personality. He had to admit that he couldn't blame her.

Suddenly, a tall man with ruffled black hair walked in the kitchen, wearing blue pajamas. Harry's heart jumped again. His father had glasses that shielded his dark eyes and gave him a mature look all over. Harry felt as if he was staring at a reflection of himself, but only adding age, height, and the green eyes.

"Harry, what are you doing? Sit down."

Harry reluctantly took a seat next to Dad and took a plate for his own. It smelled delicious. So far, he didn't belong to this new family. He hadn't spent enough time with them to get used to everyone.

"So, am I going to Diagon Alley too?" Harry said, a bit intimidated, as he took a bite out of his eggs.

"Don't be ridiculous. You're going to be home training with your Dad. Seriously, what's gotten into you this morning?"

"Nothing. I just didn't sleep well last night. I worked on some of my homework though."

For the first time, Harry saw a smile creep up on his mother's face. He had never known she had a dimple on her right cheek. She looked beautiful when she smiled.

"Good. You might want to get cracking at those books while you're on a roll."

Harry nodded, knowing inside that he would never touch those books again.

"Mum, look. He's spilling his orange juice all over me!" One of the twins whined loudly.

"Stop it Mase. Clean it up when you're done."

"Oh!" His Dad clicked a finger, looking at Harry, "I just remembered. Your sweetheart Floo'ed over just a few minutes ago."

"Who, Ginny?" Harry blurted out, and immediately wanted to kick himself for opening his mouth. He squinted his eyes in regret as his parents stared at him.

"Who's Ginny?" Mum said suspiciously, putting the plate on the table.

"No one. So what did you say to her Dad?"

"I told her you were sleeping. You might want to Floo over for a moment or two."

"Oh, I see." No, he didn't see. He didn't even know his own girlfriend's name. He shouldn't have said Ginny. Why had he even thought of her? They were not an item any more.

"HARRY AND MARISSA SITTING IN A TREE-"

"Kids, quit it-"

K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" The twins sang. Harry didn't know why, but their high whiny voices made him cackle.

Dad looked at him, crunching his eyebrows, "Why in the name of Merlin are you laughing? Don't encourage them."

"I can't help it." Harry said in between his laughing.

"Clean up now, you two. Harry, don't stay longer than five minutes there. No snogging time for you."

Harry blushed crimson as the warmth crept up his cheeks. He had made out with someone and his mother knew about it and might have seen him doing it. It wasn't exactly the most pleasant thought.

As Mum picked up the basket that she'd rested to serve breakfast, Dad got up and took it away from her.

"How many times have I told you not to carry heavy things? The Healer told you that too."

"Oh, shove it James. I'm on my fourth pregnancy. I'm in a perfectly good position to judge what's heavy for me." She snatched the basket back from him.

Harry dropped the fork from his hand. A fifth child? Were her parents crazy? Or he should have said Weasley. The Weasleys…Harry wondered if he still was friends with Ron and Hermione. Surely having siblings didn't change everything in his life?

After Mum left, Harry spoke under his breath, "Is she always that nice?"

"What?" His Dad grinned, "No, she's not. She can be quite nasty when she's not four months pregnant. Tell you what. I'll give you an extra ten minutes at Marissa's but make sure you come back with your head on our lesson and now on how good your girlfriend looks in a bikini."

"Dad!"

He guffawed vociferously, "I'm just teasing you, son. Come, help me wash these dishes. The less work your mother had to do the less grumpy she is."

"Okay." Harry got off his chair and followed Dad to the sink. As they were washing, he thought of something, "Why don't we just use magic?"

"One, because you're still not allowed to use magic, and two, your mother doesn't like to use it very much."

"Why not?"

He raised his eyebrows at Harry, "You are asking me like you've never seen her before."

Harry laughed nervously, "Well, I think I hit my head coming downstairs. Tell me."

His Dad smirked and went on, "She says that people are too dependent on magic and don't learn the meaning of hard work. I sneak and use it sometimes of course, but when she's pregnant, she's so jittery and wanders all over the house the whole day."

"Oh…so what's the lesson about today?"

"Dueling, like it always is. You know, I think Lily's right. Something's up with you today. I'll have to examine your head later. Now go take a shower. I'll do the rest." He gave Harry a wink. Harry grinned and washed his hands.

As he took a shower, he thought about everything that had happened downstairs. His father giving him dueling lessons was so strange, especially when they all lived in a world with no Voldemort. He made it a mental note to ask Dad whether he existed or not. Why else would he be training everyday in the summer? His Dad was much cooler than his Mum so far. He wanted to wait and see how she was after she had her baby. Thinking of dueling made him wonder about what his parent's professions were. Harry guessed Dad was an Auror but he didn't know about Mum. They must have done something respectable because anyone who took one look at this house would know they were rich.

He went downstairs in jeans and a green short sleeved shirt, the first clothes he'd seen in his closet. There were a lot of Muggle clothes, probably because their Mum liked to see her kids in Muggle clothes.

When he approached the fireplace, Clint and Mase followed him, singing the tree song over and over again. He was not amused this time. He revolted by chasing them like a monster, and they eventually disappeared. He went back to the family room, took a hold of some Floo powder from the stack next to the fireplace, and threw it into the flaming fire, and yelling, "Marissa's house!"

Harry went whirling through many fireplaces and finally landed into the designated one, not having any dirt on him except for his hand. Harry didn't even get a chance to look at his surroundings before someone snatched him from behind, twirled him around, and put their lips smack on his.


	2. A Different Kind of Duel

**Chapter 2 **

**A Different Kind of Duel**

Where could he be? Hermione had searched everywhere: the Burrow, Diagon Alley, every inch of Grimmauld Place, and more. It just wasn't like Harry to disappear on them unexpectedly. Hermione knew she should have kept an eye on him after all the business with Voldemort and Dumbledore, and now Death Eaters could have raided the place and kidnapped Harry.

She immediately went downstairs to ask anyone if they had found him, when she ran into Ron.

"Oh, Ron. You scared me. So, did you find him?" She asked desperately.

Ron shook his head, "No. Where could he have gone, the fool? You know what. I don't think he's been kidnapped."

"How can you tell?" Hermione said.

"Some of his money is missing. Maybe he took some with him to go and find the rest of the Horcruxes."

Hermione thought about it for a moment but disagreed, "No, he couldn't have. He knows he can't do it by himself, and plus, he promised he would take us when he decided to leave. It's definitely something else…"

"Like what?"

"Come on. Let's search his room one more time."

"I already looked in there."

"That's right. _You_ looked in there. I didn't." Hermione grabbed his arm and lead him to Harry's room.

"Hey! What is that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what it means." Hermione smirked as she opened the door. The room seriously needed some air freshener. The sheets on the bed were unmade, half of them dangling onto the floor. The room was practically bare except for a bed, a desk on the left, and a chair by the door. Hermione picked up Harry's wallet from the chair and searched it. Harry always kept a considerable amount of money with him, but there were only five Galleons in the wallet. Had he needed to pay off someone? This was all so confusing.

"So, found anything yet?" Ron said with an attitude. Hermione looked past the bed as her eyes rested upon the floor. Something shone against the limited amount of light emitting through the small window. She kneeled down and touched the green carpet. There was some sort of powder spread across it. She could sense Ron's eyes looking down from behind her.

"Maybe he spilled some Floo powder?" Ron suggested.

"But there isn't a fireplace in here. Why would he have Floo powder in here? Nope. It's something else, and I think I know what it is."

"What is it?" Ron asked eagerly.

It didn't take long for Hermione to realize what Harry had done. She gasped and covered her mouth in awe. Did he really have the guts to do that?

"What, what? Tell me!"

"Harry went back into time."

"What? Is that even possible?"

"Yes, and I'm pretty sure what year too…"

"Well, don't keep me in the dark then."

"Where his parents were alive…or maybe, he created an alternate reality where his parents are still alive today."

"Whoa. That's crazy. But how could he do it? He doesn't have a Time Turner." Ron said.

"There are other ways to do it, and now I think I'm going to hit myself for telling him those other ways." She got back to her feet and brushed away the powder from her hands. "In our third year when you two found out about the Time Turner, Harry asked me if there were other ways to do it, and I told him that you could do it with the assistance of a Time Bender. They are these extremely old witches that have control over time and space, and for some money, they can bend your reality."

"Oh…well, I can understand why he did it, not having any parents and all that."

"But he doesn't know the consequences. You can only come back when you really want to. Tell me what the chances are of that happening while Harry is with his Mum and Dad."

"Maybe…he'll really miss all of us and return."

Hermione made a skeptical noise, "I doubt it. If I were in his position, I wouldn't want to come back." Now that was a scary thought.

"But what if we never see him again? You don't think he would come back for us, his best friends?"

"I don't know Ron. Only time will tell. Let's go. We have to tell the others what's happened and see if we can bring him back."

"Alright." Ron agreed and followed Hermione out the door. Despite her doubts, Hermione hoped Harry would prove her wrong and come back soon. They could never make it without him in this existing world.

…

Harry made a huge effort to pull away from the locks of Marissa, but failed horribly, left overshadowed by her moans and hands traveling from his back to arms. After a few repulses, Harry stopped fighting and just kissed her back. She wasn't as much kissing him as trying to chew off his mouth, coming at him with a full tongue that would eventually suck out his own if they didn't stop kissing. One positive quality Harry caught was her scent. An aroma of sweet vanilla raspberry rose in the air and went through Harry's nostrils pleasantly, invigorating his sense of smell.

A minute passed and Harry couldn't breathe. He practically had to shove her back to break off, and she looked startled at his action. As she gave him a look of disgust, Harry took his chance to examine her. She was pretty. If he had been at home, he would have never thought her to be attractive. Marissa was a blond haired and blue-eyed beauty, where her hair trailed past her shoulders and her aquamarine eyes looked huge in proportion to her pale face. Her freckles made her sort of cute, though.

"What the hell is the matter with you?" She snapped, while wiping the side of her lip.

"You scared me, sneaking up on me like that. So, did you want anything?"

"No," Marissa said simply, coming closer to him, "I just wanted to see my baby."

Her hands wrapped around Harry's neck as her lips widened into a sweet smile. Her touch was rough like a man who didn't want to touch another but lighter. Harry pretended to enjoy it by forcing a smile. Hopefully, she wouldn't kiss him again-

His wish was not her command. Harry found himself endorsed in another snogging fest that should have been passionate but was far from it for him.

"Alright alright. I'm assuming no one's home?" Harry pushed her back again.

"Wha-stop doing that! And yeah, no one is home. I thought we'd have a private party of our own. What do you think?"

"Mmm, as much as I want to, I can't. Jam-Dad's planned dueling lessons for me, and speaking of that," Harry pretended to check hi watch, "I have to be back home in a minute or so."

"Aww…party pooper. Come over later if you have time. No one is going to be home for ten hours. I'll wait for you." She made a puppy dog face at him, and Harry had an instant urge to run away as fast as he could. He wouldn't be caught dead alone with this girl. Who knew what she was capable of? He even enjoyed a good snog, but he wasn't about to get serious with a stranger.

Marissa kissed her on his cheek and said, "I love you baby."

Harry nodded nervously without uttering a word and went for the Floo powder.

"That was fast." Dad said as Harry came out of the fireplace, "You ready?"

"Yeah."

"We'll review the things we learned from last lesson, just to get you warmed up. Be prepared for my signal."

"Just a second, Dad. I was wondering if you had heard of this man named Voldemort."

His Dad raised a hand to his cheek in consternation, "Strange name, don't you think? No, I don't think I've ever heard of him. Why do you ask?"

"Nothing. I just read something in the Daily Prophet, that's all. Okay, I'm ready. Sorry about that." Harry didn't want to get him too curious.

"Ready?"

"No no no! Wait!" Harry held out his hands in protest, "How are we going to duel if I can't use magic yet?"

"Who said we were going to use wands? This is a sword duel, Harry."

Harry's mind froze. What had he just said? "Wha-wha-what? A sword duel-"

"That's right. Don't look so frightened, boy." He laughed openly, "Alright. Whether you're ready or not, here we go! _Accio swords!"_

Out of nowhere, two shiny elongated swords appeared in Dad's hands. He put hi wand aside on the floor. Surprisingly, there were no pieces of furniture in the room they were in, being perfect for a dueling room.

Harry's mind told him to go along with the dueling. As soon as his eye rested on the swords, he swore he started to perspire everywhere. His sweat was even telling him to run. Oh, what was going to happen? What if he got hurt? No, his Dad would never hurt him…

"Here." He heaved the sword to Harry, who stumbled with the and until he grasped a hold of it. Harry smiled nervously at his father as he gave him a calculating look.

"Alright. I'm ready." Harry stood up straight with both hands on the sword handle and his legs parted slightly. The opposite sword came flying against Harry's, and as both clanged, Harry let his other hand go. It aimed at his feet and Harry lowered his to level with the other. Well, this wasn't so bad, he though as he jumped back from a strike against his chest. The clattering of the swords was keeping a rhythm in Harry's ears, making it possible for him to stay on his feet for so long.

Harry wasn't so lucky with the next attack. Harry's eyes were focused on the floor for a precious second as Dad's sword pierced across his right cheek. Harry screeched with intense pain and let go of his sword. His cheek was on unbearable fire. It felt worse than the Cruciatus Curse. Dad dropped his sword as well and went rushing to Harry's aid.

"Oh my lord. I'm so sorry. Does it hurt?" Dad breathed in horror.

Harry nodded, suddenly wishing he hadn't, because as his skin sagged down, he was hit with another dose of pain. More blood trickled down his neck. Who in the world had ever invented sword dueling?

"Here. I'll heal it. _Medicor!_"

All the blood vanished until there was only a tickling sensation on his cheek. Harry brushed his hand against it, feeling his smooth skin, and then reluctantly picked up his sword and got ready to duel again.

"No," Dad shook his head, "That's enough for today. You're too tired to concentrate. Your mother told me you were up at five this morning. Sleep for four hours will make anyone exhausted. Go back to sleep and we'll continue this tomorrow."

"Alright Dad." Harry handed the sword to Dad and left the room hurriedly. Now he had to figure out how to be a sword dueling champion by tomorrow, or his father would probably kill him. He hadn't been expecting Harry to such a novice, though, so it wasn't his fault. Wow, the fake Harry must have been really good at all the fighting. He sure could take on Voldemort any day. He still didn't know why they were having lessons. There was no threat in the Wizarding World in their time. Nothing made sense…

Sooner than expected, Dad followed him and said, "Harry, I have to go. Work calls. Tell your mother."

"What is it?" Harry asked.

"Some fools are terrorizing Ottery St. Catchpole. I'll be back in a couple of hours. Bye!" With a crack, Dad Disapparated, and Harry headed to the kitchen to eat a snack. All this dueling had already made him hungry.

But it turned out that there was already someone in the kitchen. He could see the back of a redhead sitting at the small table.

"Hey prick. Lessons done already?" She said, without looking at him. There was something annoying about her voice that he didn't want to hear a second time, and it wasn't just that she had called her a prick, but the amount of attitude that had been existent in her voice was amazing. So this was his younger sister. He was suddenly reminded of Aunt Petunia.

Harry rummaged through the cabinets and finally found a piece of lemon pie stacked in the back of the fifth cupboard. Mmm…his mother was definitely a good cook.

"That was my pie." The sister said. Yes, that was her title for now, since he didn't even know her name.

"Did you make it?" Harry challenged her while taking another bite of the pie.

"No, but I called it yesterday while you were with that slut."

"What is your problem?" Harry said crossly.

"Miss Monica doesn't have a problem; however, Mister Harry is a problem himself."

Harry chose not to comment and instead asked, "Why don't you take lessons from Dad?"

"Because he seems to think you need them more since you're a _man_, genius. I could most definitely beat you to a duel."

"Are you challenging me?" Harry might not know much about swords, but he did know the basics of wand dueling.

"Not now. I'll tell you the right time when it comes. I need to shower, plan a party, go shopping-"

"What party?" Harry inquired.

"Don't get so excited. I'm not planning your birthday party, bro."

What was her deal? Why was she being so cruel to him? The twins might make fun of him but at lease they weren't this rude. Harry sat at the table to get a better look at her. She looked just as he had imagined. The way her nose flared up gave her a snotty appeal and her partly narrowed green eyes inflicted pride on everything she laid her eyes on.

"Stop staring at me."

Oh god, wasn't she ever going to stop snapping at him? What had he ever done to her? This trip wasn't turning out as he planned. All he had wanted to do was spend some time talking and traveling with his Mum and Dad, but instead he got stuck with three siblings and another one coming on the way.

When he wasn't paying attention, Monica snipped the pie from his reach and shoved it under the table.

"Hey!"

"I told you that's my pie. Now sod off."

Harry got off his chair and sighed. This was not going to be an easy month.

"Fine then. I'll check what we have in the fridge, or have you called that too?" Harry asked, crossing his arms.

"Oh, you're free to scourge the refrigerator. Not that you'll find anything in there, though. The twins have probably eaten everything by now."

She turned out to be right. The only things left were the essential vegetables, bread, some eggs, and other items Harry had never seen before.

"Bad luck, bro." Monica said, as she retreated from table, took the pie in her hands, and exited the kitchen. _What an annoying little_-

"Prongs! Prongs! Hey Prongs!" A deep voice ran throughout the house. Harry walked out to see who it was, and amazingly found Sirius standing in front of him. He was the same handsome Sirius that had posed as best man in his Dad's wedding, but only some odd years older.

"What's up Harry." Sirius lifted his eyebrows in acknowledgement as if they were just acquaintances and moved on to the family room, yelling, "Hey Mona! Have you seen your Dad? Is he here?"

That was odd. Why hadn't he asked Harry where his Dad was? He was being ignored and ridiculed by almost everyone and he didn't like it one bit. The only person that Harry appreciated so far was his father, and he had to keep in mind that he had gashed Harry's cheek too. Harry must have been a completely different person in this reality, and he would surely bet that the kid was a lover of Quidditch, arrogant, skillful at dueling, and rude to his sister. Also, the way his godfather had given him a short look and moved on made Harry think that they weren't close.

"Hey Sirius! Want to go out for lunch?" Harry followed after him, thinking he could sway him back with this new Harry.

"Out? You hate eating out." Sirius looked strangely at him.

"So? I can try. Variety is the spice of life, after all!" Oh, what a corny thing to say, but he was glad to see that it made Sirius laugh. He was also glad to see that his laugh was still bark like. Hmm…Harry wondered if Sirius had a girlfriend…

"Nah, sorry Harry. I gotta talk to your Dad."

"He went to some mission at St. Ottery…" Harry had forgotten the rest of the name.

"St. Catchpole. Damn, boy. You got amnesia?"

He was really tired of everyone calling him boy.

"No…um, how about we go see Remus?"

Sirius stared at him, "Moony? Last time I heard, you weren't talking to him."

Harry gaped at him, "What? What did I do?"

"You told your little girlfriend that he's a werewolf."

"No I did not! What are you-" Harry cut off his sentence. He probably had told Marissa of Remus, but just not him. Ugh, what a traitor he was…

"I mean, yes, I did. I didn't mean to, but it just came up and she squeezed it out of me." Harry lied, tapping his foot lightly.

"I think I need to go apologize to him. Will you take me?"

Sirius considered Harry for a few seconds and then said, "Alright, if you really want to."

"Do you want to Floo?"

"No. We'll use Side-Along Apparition."

Harry held on to Sirius's hand as he Disapparated. It was so weird to be doing this with Sirius, a supposedly convicted killer in his own world, but he was free to go anywhere in this one. He wondered if Sirius was still his godfather and not just his father's best friend. Oh my, that was reminding him of the Dursleys and was curious if they lived at Privet Drive. How big was Dudley?

Lupin's house turned out to be more like a one story apartment. Gloom was the message Harry received in every room, which weren't plenty. There was one bedroom, one bathroom, and the kitchen and living room were adjoined with only a half brick wall as a separator. All the furniture seemed as if it had been picked up from the garbage. Harry guessed Lupin was as unemployed in this world as he was in the other.

Lupin was home. He was in the kitchen, cleaning the blackened stove by hand. As soon as he heard the crack, he turned around and smiled at Sirius, "Oh, hey Padfoot." His eyes traveled to Harry, and suddenly his eyes went cold, "Hello Mr. Potter."

He didn't know why, but Harry found Lupin's coldness admiring. They had to have been close enough for him to be this angry with Harry. Oh, why had he gone off and told that girl everything? She wasn't worth anything compared to Lupin and it was obvious that all she wanted with Harry was a physical relationship or Harry would've gotten a chance to say two words to her in the morning.

"Sit down. Want anything to eat Padfoot?"

"Yeah, I'd love something. Thanks!" Harry intervened, and both men turned to look at him.

'What's up with you?" Sirius asked, "You're not one to make a joke at a time like this."

"A time like what?"

"In a time when he is angry with you. He could chop your head off, you know."

"No he couldn't. We're buddies."

"That may be true, but you don't know Moony when he's in a temper. He goes wild and scratches and eats you up-"

"I heard that Padfoot." Lupin said loudly. Sirius laughed as he settled on the chair nearest to the kitchen. However, Harry went inside the kitchen, grabbed a glass, and got himself some water.

"Lu-Remus, I wanted to apologize for what I did. I'm sorry I told Marissa about you. Forgive me?"

Lupin still had his back turned on Harry when he said, "Forgive you? Forgive you? I don't think so. Actually, I think I should bite you and make you see what it's like to live as a werewolf in this world. You wouldn't be able to stand it for one day, with everyone staring at you like you're some contagious disease and no one willing to employ you. That's right; you wouldn't survive it a day. Get out of here. I don't want you here right now."

The words had a full effect on Harry. His heart sank like it had never before and his body forced him to move out of the kitchen without saying anything else. That had been the meanest and most hurtful thing anyone had ever said to him.

A/N: Thank you for all the wonderful reviews. They mean a lot to me. :)


	3. A Run In

**Chapter 3 **

**A Run In**

Harry was still having a hard time deciding whether this temporary new life was worth staying for. On one side, there was his loving father who wanted his son trained against any obstacle, but then on the other side, he had to face the memory of Lupin speaking those hurtful words to him and having to deal with his sister's snotty attitude everyday. One thing he had improved on was the relationship with his mother, and that had been by helping her cook lunch a few days. She would ruffle his hair and say how sweet it was for him to help her out, and Harry had felt so proud of himself after it. While there was a life with his parents and siblings on this side, there was also another consisting of his friends and the Weasley's, the people he had grown accustomed to and learned to love for so long. He kept on reminding himself that this wasn't a permanent ordeal and that he would go back home in a month or two. It had only been two weeks so far.

As the month neared its end, Harry realized that his birthday was coming up soon. He was actually hoping that he would get some kind of recognition of the date or maybe a party would be nice. He would have loved some presents too. Sure, it was quite selfish for Harry to think this, but he couldn't help it. Never in his life had he been in a house where there were people around who loved and respected him (most of them anyway) and he needed something on his birthday to prove this to himself.

It was a Tuesday afternoon when Harry was watching some television in the living room. He was confused how it could work in a magical house because he was sure that Dad must have had tons of protective spells around the house, being an Auror and all. Despite that, he was glad to be in charge of the remote control for a change. All he had seen at the Durlsey's were Dudley's stupid favorite cartoons and the Daily News. He was lucky that Monica wasn't home or he wouldn't be enjoying the leisure anyway.

An hour or so later, Sirius walked in and sat down next to him. If Sirius had a job, Harry would have never been able to figure out his schedule because it seemed that he always was around even though he didn't live in the house. Harry was extremely curious to know what his occupation was but he would never ask him. How strange would that be?

"So, watcha watching?' Sirius asked casually as he landed his feet on the mahogany cocktail table.

"Some show called Family Ties."

"Hmm…I see. Doesn't look very interesting."

"It is though," Harry contradicted, "You have to get into it."

Sirius shook his head, "I just don't know how Muggles can watch this riff-raff. It's all fake."

"That's what is so interesting about it, how they can create an alternative world and create all these characters."

"Uh-huh. Harry, I think you need a break from the television. Play Quidditch."

"It's only two of us."

"Nonsense. Invite some of your friends. It's strange. I haven't seen them around for weeks."

It would help if I knew the name of my friends, Harry thought.

"Well, who d o you think I should call over?" Harry asked in a high pitched voice.

"I don't know. They're your mates."

"Since you're playing, I would love the input from you."

"Sure you would. Call over…Abraham, Seamus, Jason, and Dan."

Seamus Finnigan? Harry hoped it was the same one so at least he would know one of them. When had all these guys been in his year? And whatever happened to Ron, Hermione, Neville, and Ginny? He felt disappointed and a bit sad that they weren't his friends here.

"Alright, if that's who you want."

"Right." said Sirius, giving Harry another one of his strange stares, "Are you sure you're not taking Lily's pills?"

"Haha. No." Harry said sarcastically, "So, how is Remus doing?"

"Oh, he's fine. He's just not fine around you, if you know what I mean."

"Yeah I do, and after what happened at his place, I'm scared to go near him."

"I don't blame you, although I do blame you for telling someone else about his secret. He told you because you two were so close and he would have never did it if he knew you were going to spill it. That was unfair of you."

"How many times do I have to say it! I didn't mean to! We got on the subject and she forced it out of me. It's not like I wanted to tell her!" Harry fumed, slapping down the remote control.

"Well, however she got it out of you, it was wrong. You should make up with him."

"I tried but he won't listen to me!"

"Don't yell at me. I didn't do anything." Sirius laughed and got to his feet, "See you later Harry. Let me know when you call your friends."

"Fine." Harry said bitterly. He turned off the television and slouched back onto the couch. What was he going to do about Lupin? Harry didn't want Lupin cross with him. This time was too short to be spent fighting with anyone. Harry wanted to sleep on the couch all day but instead he had to Floo over to people he had never met and invite them over to the house. He hoped he at least played Quidditch at the same skill and style. Actually, he had the feeling that he would be better.

It did not take long to carry out his task and in fifteen minutes or so, everyone had gathered in the family room. As Sirius went to fetch his broomstick, Harry took a chance to examine his 'friends'. Seamus was the same as ever, sporting short chestnut colored hair and wide eyes. Jason was extremely tall, with bulky shoulders that appeared to have pads on them, and muscles sticking out everywhere else from his body. Harry would never want to pick a fight with him. Abraham was on the shorter side, having blonde hair and blue eyes, reminding Harry of a younger Colin. The last one was Dan, who was a normal looking guy with dark hair, almond-shaped eyes, and circle-framed glasses. They were all wearing Muggle clothes, Seamus having a football jersey on that Harry recognized from his elementary school days. It was a good thing he had learned all their names after Flooing or he would have been in a real bind.

They spent a few hours playing Quidditch, and Harry was happy to see that all of them were impressed by his swift moves and catches. After some time passed, they began to gang up on him as he held the Quaffle. It didn't annoy him the least bit because he was too pleasant to visit that emotion.

As they landed, Jason steered his broom over to him and said, "Wow Harry. Awesome moves today. Where did you learn all that?"

"Oh…well, Dad taught me." Harry thought quickly, remembering that his father had been a Quidditch champion in his earlier years.

"Oh, I don't think so." Sirius came over to them, "Even James doesn't play that well."

"That's impossible. Dad is the best."

"Yeah, well, we will see when he gets back and you have a little one on one game with him."

Oh great…just what he needed to show everyone how out of character he was around here.

"So you comin' Harry?" Dan asked.

"Where?"

"To the ultimate Quidditch game of the year between Britain and Ireland, you dolt. I told you about it weeks ago but you said you had to ask your parents."

"When is it?"

"At the end of August, I think."

"Er-no, I don't think so. I'll be busy with work then."

"Ha. The only work you'll be doing will be with Marissa. Enjoy a good shag lately?"

The three laughed.

"Not so loud. Sirius is right there."

"So? I'm sure even he thinks so. What's up with you, Harry? We haven't seen you in weeks. Have you forgotten about us?"

"No, not at all." Harry was starting to sweat all over again, "It's just that Dad's been training me extra hard these days and my feet just don't let me get up to do anything else after it. I haven't seen Marissa lately either." Harry said truthfully.

"Then drop by and tell us. Don't ditch us like that."

"Alright, alright. You don't have to be all girly about it." Harry and the others headed back into the house, "Are you three going too?"

"Definitely." Jason and Abraham said at the same time, but Seamus said, "I can't. Mum won't let me."

"Seamus!" Dan whined, "You can't miss this! What's she so against anyway?"

"She's afraid something will happen in the crowd. She's a Muggle, you know."

"You should bring her then. My Dad was planning to chaperone us anyway. Ask her."

Seamus snorted, "I don't think my mother would enjoy watching a Quidditch match. She hates sports. She didn't even come to my football games when I was young. And not to mention that Quidditch is a magical sport, which makes it worse."

"We'll figure something out. It has to be the four of us, or we don't go." Dan said firmly, sticking his arm out in protest.

Wow. They must be really close to do everything together. It was kind of nice to be in a group that didn't stare and criticize you for being the Boy Who Lived.

"I gotta go now. A late lunch calls." Seamus said, rubbing his stomach hungrily and Disapparated.

"Yeah, I should go too. I've been here a while. See you later Harry." Abraham said and also vanished. They were so lucky to be able to Apparate.

…

"Come on, Harry. We're going to visit Diagon Alley." Dad said to Harry the day before his birthday.

"Why?" Harry asked curiously. Was his Dad going to get him a birthday present?

"I need some ingredients for a few potions I have to make and you need your things for school. I thought you should come since you haven't been there for ages."

"Right." Harry said, trying to hide the disappointment in his voice.

"You can bring Marissa along if you'd like."

"Uh…no, thanks. She's not home today." Another day around that girl and Harry would go mad. If he became lucky, he would never see her face again, or at least never kiss her for that matter.

"Alright then. We'll leave in twenty."

It was exciting to go Diagon Alley because he hadn't made an appearance to the public yet, and it would be different than when he was the Chosen One in his own reality. People would not gawk at his scar wherever he went or would they whisper in each other's ears about the latest rumors in the Daily Prophet.

When they stepped into the Leaky Cauldron, Harry noticed everything to be normal. The only different was that most of the seats were filled with people smiling and laughing, and the front counter was clean instead of dirty as the last time Harry had seen it. There was such an advantage when Voldemort didn't exist. People wouldn't look twice behind their shoulder for any kind of danger.

First, they stopped at the Apothecary for Dad's ingredients, which took forever since he couldn't figure out which types he needed. In Harry's opinion, there were too many. Next, they went to Madam Malkin's to get Harry some new dress robes. Apparently, Dad had a joke of his own.

"Yeah, they'll come in handy when you and Marissa get married."

"Oh shut up Dad."

"What, are you telling me that you won't? You're really serious about her. Tell her everything, don't you?"

How did he know about the Lupin dilemma? Of course he did. They were best friends.

"No Dad. I don't tell her everything. He wanted to add that it was more physical and that's why it wouldn't last but decided not to. How weird would it be to talk to your father about things like that?

"This green will look good on you. Matches your eyes." He said as he pulled out a wide long emerald robe with black rims in the middle. Harry had to say that it looked elegant."

"Buy that, then. I really don't care." Harry said dismissively.

"Alright, I will. Madam! We'll take three of these, if you please." Dad called out to Madam Malkin, who was attending to another customer at the counter. She gave Dad a look that said 'be patient' and returned to the woman facing her.

"Three? Why do I need three? And besides, they would be the same color."

"What if they get dirty or rip? It's always good to have backups."

"Yeah, and it only happens when you're filthy rich." Harry muttered.

"What was that, son?"

"Nothing Dad. They're lovely. Really. Can I go outside and get some fresh air?"

"Yeah. I'll be with you in a bit."

Once Harry got out of the shop, he went back to his normal breathing. He could have suffocated in there with clothes everywhere around him like butter on bread. He would have rather enjoyed the sunny day by playing another game of Quidditch. There was perfect visibility and it wasn't too hot either, only because it had just rained the previous day, but the sun had picked up most of the puddles on the street. He started walking in gradual paces to free his feet and thought about everyone.

Harry didn't know why, but he got the feeling that his family never spent time together as a whole. At dinner, Dad would be missing many times because of work of Monica would take off to one of her friends' houses. Of course it was hard to get together when the family was so big, but it was hard to believe that Sirius was present at their house more than Dad. His father was such a workaholic.

Another thing that was bugging him was that no one had acknowledged his birthday so far and he had to admit that he was hurt by it. If they didn't remember his most important day of the

Year, then this illusion was no better than the reality. Even saying 'Hey Harry, your birthday's coming up soon' would have sufficed. Maybe they were torturing him on purpose-

BAM! Something hard struck him against the chest as he swayed back and thudded onto the ground. Echoes of a girl screaming rang in his hears and everyone on the street gathered around to look at him. Harry groaned and made an attempt to get to his feet. A hand touched his back and lifted him up.

"Whoa whoa Romeo, watch it. You alright?" An old bald man with hints of a gray moustache said to him.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry about that."

"Oh, you didn't hit me. It was-"

"I'm so sorry! Forgive me!" A girl broke through the crowd and came to face him. He was left staring, because the girl standing in front of him was Ginny. She appeared about the same, with long smooth auburn hair and those blue eyes that he had dwelled into so many times before…

"I wasn't watching where I was going. Sorry about that." She said, swinging a bag of books which Harry guessed had hit him.

"It's okay Ginny." Two seconds after, he realized that he had spoken her name.

"How do you know my name?" Ginny asked suspiciously.

"You are in my House."

"Yes…you do look familiar, now that I think about it. Well, see you around." She said as if they had met for the first time and walked away in the other direction. _Man, I would break up with Marissa any day to be with her._

What was he thinking? They weren't together anymore, and the sooner Harry accepted it, the better chance he would have to move on and stop thinking about girls for a while, or at least not until Voldemort was gone. That certainly was one advantage in this world…

A few minutes later, Dad caught up with him and they went to Flourish and Blotts next. As they were heading back to the Leaky Cauldron last, Harry spotted a bunch of owls through the glass window and instantly thought of his owl Hedwig. Since Hagrid had never taken him to Diagon Alley when he was eleven, he had never received an owl.

"Dad, can we take a look at the owls?" Harry asked.

"Owls? You hate owls."

"No I don't…they just get annoying sometimes."

"Alright. If you want." Dad shrugged and followed Harry into the store. There were all types of owls, but not different colors. Not one owl was snowy white. Of course, she must have been taken years ago…Who wouldn't want her? Harry was disappointed. He had always been able to count on Hedwig in times of need but she wasn't with him here.

The sun began to set when they were ready to go home. Dad used Side-Along Apparition to get there, but when they Apparated outside the house, Harry frowned.

"Why did we Apparate out here?" Harry asked.

"You'll see. Follow me."

Dad was approaching the front door as if he was trespassing a stranger's house, and he knocked three times before twisting the door knob very slowly. As soon as the door flung open, a massive crowd of people jumped up and yelled, "Surprise! Happy birthday!"

Harry was simply overwhelmed. He headed to the living room and found the whole place decorated with streamers and sparkling balloons. A huge banner was spread across thee bare wall which appeared to be floating magically.

'Wow' was all he could say.

* * *

Once again, thank you for all the generous reviews. They inspire me to write more. Enjoy reading!


	4. A Real Duel

Chapter 4 – A Real Duel

"Come on Harry! We have to cut the cake." Harry's Mum called from a few paces away.

As Harry walked in her direction, Marissa followed close behind him with a hand on his back, saying, "You should have seen your face. You were so surprised!"

"Of course I was. Everyone seems to have forgotten the fact that my birthday is tomorrow."

"Oh we know, but what kind of surprise party would it be if we had it tomorrow?"

"Wonderful." Harry forced a smile. He thought he would enjoy himself on his birthday but he wasn't feeling that sense of happiness so far. He was missing something. His friends. Ron and Hermione weren't there, and neither was Ginny. Harry imagined her feeding him a piece of cake and then kissing him on the cheek. No matter how much he tried to shut out his feelings, they would come back to haunt him, and he might as well face them than run.

He could have been happy even if he had spotted his bratty sister amongst the crowd, but he hadn't. It would be nice to know that despite the fighting and snapping, she still cared for him. They were siblings after all.

In a couple of seconds, he was surrounded by all the people who were staring at the magnificent cake. It was composed of three layers with blue icing and the numbers seventeen sparkling in midair.

Mum handed him a long slender knife and he wasted no time before slicing the cake with some enthusiasm as everyone sang happy birthday. Believe it or not, he could feel himself blushing. Harry had never been surrounded by so many people observing him.

First, he was fed by Mum and Dad who gave him small chunks of the cake, but as he moved to the twins, he was pinched. Turning around, Harry found Marissa glaring at him, "Hello? Forgot me?"

He laughed nervously, "No, of course not."

Harry found out he never should have turned around because the next second there was a huge piece suspended between his lips, the icing smearing all over his face. Marissa's hands were working around.

"Ok, ok, stop!" Harry protested, and thankfully, it worked.

And then, the music came on, and it didn't take a genius to figure out what would come up next.

"Let's dance Harry!"

"No! I mean…no one else is."

"Of course not! You're the birthday boy and you start it. You love to dance!"

Her blonde hair bounced as she lead him to the middle of the living room. She wrapped her arms around his neck and moved her feet too quickly according to the music. Everyone watched with raised eyes. Did this girl have any shame? He wouldn't be caught dead touching his girlfriend in front of his friends.

As they danced, Harry looked around at everyone and spotted some familiar faces. Besides Sirius, Lupin, and Peter, there were Seamus, an upper classman Harry had seen a few times in the corridors, and to his surprise, Lavender Brown. She looked really different, wearing a mint green robe with a long pearl necklace shining brilliantly against her ivory skin. He had to say it: she looked extremely pretty. Next to her was Monica, chatting animatedly with her. He guessed they were best friends, and it made perfect sense. Lavender herself was a nosy, snotty, and supercilious person and matched with his sister.

"What are you staring at?" Marissa snapped him out of his reverie, "You're acting awfully strange. And would you dance properly? It's your birthday party, for Merlin's sake."

"Sorry. I was just checking to see who came. Want to take a break?"

"Not yet."

Harry sighed and kept on swaying to the music, but once she figured out that his heart wasn't in dancing, she let go and said, "Fine. I'll be back in five."

"Okay." Harry went to the couch where his father was drinking some juice and talking to Mum. He embraced his son as Harry sat down next to him, a hug incomparable to anything else.

"Having fun so far, son?" Dad asked.

"Yeah. Thanks so much. I was really surprised."

"I loved it. You should have seen your face earlier this morning when no one mentioned anything about your birthday. I was ready to crack up."

"It's always fun," Mum said, "Every year your party's on a different day and you can never figure out when."

"Yes, you definitely got me. I seriously did think everyone forgot. Thought Monica must have Confunded you all."

They both laughed, "Nah, she tried that last year but got in major trouble."

At that moment, Lavender made her way through the crowd and stood in front of Harry. He knew what was coming…

"Harry, dance with me!" She squealed, coming to grab his hand but he swiftly moved it away.

"Err-"

"O come on!" Lavender pressed on.

"Go on," Dad patted his back, "She won't bite."

Soon, eh didn't have a chance to say no because Lavender pulled him up and dragged him through the crowd.

"I missed you…" Lavender sang as she danced with him closer than normal.

"Excuse me?" Harry said, confused about what she had just said.

"What do you mean 'excuse me'? We were once lovers, until you went after _her_." Lavender said in a nasty tone.

Oh no. How many girls had he gone out with?

Suddenly, Lavender's lips were pasted against his. Harry instantly retreated and went back two steps, fuming, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"You know you liked it." She said in a slick attitude. Her eyes went to her left and froze, "Oh no."

That didn't sound good. Harry slowly looked in her direction and found Marissa shocked at one place, staring at him with utmost sorrow lingering in her eyes.

Harry ran for it. He didn't watch for people in his way, because he knew he was about to be steamed in mere seconds. Being careful not to look behind him, he continued ahead and climbed up the stairs three at a time. He finally came to his bedroom, and with a swish of his wand, he shut the door and locked it tight. His breaths were heavy and uneven, and Harry had a haunting instinct that Marissa was on the other side of the door, not making any sound and waiting for him to come out. He knew she would be out there for eternity.

"Harry…" Her voice trailed, a note of mystery present in it, "Come out. I won't yell at you or hit you. Seriously."

"No." Harry said flatly.

"Would you be a man and get out of there?"

"No. I'm not a man. I'm a boy."

"Not funny. Look, if you don't come out, then I'm telling everyone you're up here, just neglecting your birthday party."

Harry sighed, and having no other choice, he opened the door and faced her. Marissa's cheeks were red from either chasing or anger. He selected the latter. She folded her hands and huffed.

"Now, what was that all about?"

"I don't know. She just started dancing with me and kissed me."

"Am I really supposed to believe that? It takes two people to kiss, genius."

"I know, but she surprised me and I broke off as soon as I could. You can't blame me for this."

"Then why'd you run away and lock yourself in there?"

"Because I knew you would react like this." Harry explained.

"Do you take me for a fool? I know about yours and Lavender's history."

"Which is over." said Harry. He couldn't understand how he had even fallen for this girl. That gave him an idea.

"Actually, no it's not." He said as an afterthought.

Marissa raised an eye, "Excuse me?"

"Yes, that's right. I have a thing for Lavender and tonight she convinced me to go back to her."

"What? Are you out of your mind?" She stood flabbergasted.

"No. It's the most sensible thing right now. Maybe if you trusted me and paid more attention to my thoughts and feelings rather than my lips then it would have worked."

"Are you dumping me, Harry?" She spoke threateningly, bringing her hands together as if trying to figure out what to do with them.

"Er-Yeah." Harry said plainly.

"Throwing the five months away?"

"Yeah."

"Well then, I'm not spending any more of my time here. You disgust me, you cheating bastard. Have a fabulous time shagging Lavender!" And with that, she stormed off downstairs.

He was actually relieved by her reaction. Harry had been expecting a more aggressive one. Finally, it was over. He made a mental note to thank Lavender when he went downstairs. Boy, the Harry in this world was going to have major news when he returned to his turf, but Harry knew it was for the best. He wasn't going to get anything out of dating that kind of girl.

Harry cautiously went down the steps, making sure Marissa wasn't still in the house. He didn't really expect her to be, because if he had been in her place he would have left the mine minute he'd caught her cheating.

"Harry, dear!" A voice startled him, "Where'd you go?"

"Just to my room, Mum, to get something."

"Alright, well, try to stay down here."

He didn't want to stay down there. He wasn't having fun. He was a sad face surrounded by laughter and dancing.

…

Over the next few days, no one knew of his and Marissa's breakup, because he wasn't foolish enough to divulge that information. If only Monica hadn't been friends with her, then everything would have gone smoothly. At a Friday night dinner, she said to Harry, "So Harry, you on the lookout for another girl?" His fist balled up dangerously as he imagined it countering with her smug face. In the next half hour, Harry was compelled to explain why it happened, what the problem was, and other things that he just didn't want to talk about.

The next family event took place the next week, where they set out in the morning to a farm nearby to pick strawberries, apples, and other fruits. Harry couldn't understand why they were doing it if they already had all of it at home.

"Smell them," Mum told them, "That way you'll know whether they're ripe or not."

Clint found this humorous, "Here," he pointed to Mase, "He's ripe. Throw him in the bag."

They fought after that, and Harry just laughed. He was glad to find a distraction from all the fruit picking. As they split up, Harry approached Monica and tapped her on the back.

"Why did you tell everyone about it?"

"They deserved to know." She picked off a leaf, not looking at him.

"No, they didn't. It's my business. You should have asked for my permission."

"Please. I don't have to ask you anything. She told me so I spread that information on."

"Seriously, what is your problem?"

"In the spirit of all the little children, go away!" Monica yelled in a high-picked voice. Harry rolled his eyes, and at that moment, something stirred behind Monica. It was a snake. For all he knew, it would have been a python because it was humungous, expanding as it slithered toward his sister.

"Move." Harry breathed softly. He felt that if he made any loud noise the snake would strike.

"You move." She retorted.

But as Harry stepped back slowly while keeping his eyes fixed on the serpent, Monica turned, betting anything it was a joke. Her eyes lowered and she screamed. Monica's body sprinted across the farm. She looked back frantically, only to spot the snake hissing after her.

"Stop!" Harry commanded the snake. It didn't work. He repeated the word and suddenly, it coiled to face him and slowly slithered its way back into the bushels. He breathed in relief. Now, it appeared that Monica was afraid of him rather than the serpent. The accusing eyes calculated him. He moved closer to her and she moved back, stumbling slightly.

"Don't come near me."

"Don't be ridiculous." Harry said.

"What was that? The spitting…and hissing." She brought her hand to her mouth and gaped in horror, "You're a Parselmouth! Oh my god!"

Everyone came running to them. Dad exclaimed, "What happened? Why were you screaming?" He turned to Monica, who pointed a threatening finger at Harry.

"He's a Parselmouth! I heard him hiss at that snake!"

"Oh stop it Mon. That's impossible."

"Why? Why? I saw him, _heard _him. He's a Parselmouth, I swear!"

"No, no." Dad said, while the others stared at Harry. He could see the twins' confused faces. Obviously, they didn't know what a Parselmouth was.

"Honey, the only recent one was Salaazar Slytherin and I'm sure Harry isn't related to him. We're all Gryffindors!" Mum explained.

"So. Dad's a pureblood and so was Slytherin. I'm telling you the truth. I'm not making this up." She said desperately.

Harry just stood there, not knowing to say. How could he defend himself when she was right? The only negative side of it was that they would take him as a dangerous person from now on. That look in Monica's eyes was inevitable. She was treating him like a stranger.

"Yeah, I am. I just didn't know it before. I told that snake to go away and it did." Harry said.

"This is bad. Oh, this is so bad. He can't live with us anymore. I could never sleep if I knew there was a Parselmouth in our house. What if he set a snake on me like he just did now?"

"I didn't do that!" Harry shouted, "I tried to get you away from it, but you wouldn't listen!"

"Both of you shut up." Dad said calmly, and both Monica and Harry's heads turned to him.

"Monica, stop overreacting. He would never do that to you. And Harry, are you sure you're telling the truth?"

Yeah, about this, he thought, but not about how I used a Time Bender to get here. "Yes, I am."

"Mommy, what's a Pacheltung?" Clint asked.

"It's a man who can talk to snakes."

"Oooh. Does that mean Harry is evil?"

"NO!" Harry bellowed.

"Can we just go?" Monica said, "I've had enough of this farm for a lifetime."

"Alright. Come on, everyone." Mum said, leading everyone to the front of the farm so they could pay for the fruits. She gave Harry a look that he had never seen before. He could see the question written all over her face: What is my son? A Parselmouth? IS that my son? If only he could tell them the truth…

…

The house was pacified the next day. Everyone tried to forget what had happened the day before, but they could all read thoughts in each other's minds. Harry had sure mad a debacle. He should have just grabbed Monica's arm and lead her away from the snake instead of attempting to command it.

Harry kept to himself for most of the day by finishing his homework in his room. Something had to take his mind off of things. Day by day, things were worsening, and day by day he felt like returning to his own world. Things were too complicated in this illusion for him to handle, and the only benefit he was getting out of it was seeing his Mum, Dad, and Sirius. His mind told him to go, but his heart told him to stay. Which should he listen to?

Somewhere during mid-afternoon, Dad came upstairs to his room with a plate of food. "How is my favorite son today?" He laid the plate on the bed, "Don't tell your mother I said that."

"What, is Mum too scared to serve food to me now?"

"Don't be stupid. She's busy with the twins."

"This whole thing is stupid. I didn't do anything wrong."

"I know son. Just give it a couple of days and it will all blow over. They're just surprised, not scared."

"Yeah, sure." Harry said doubtfully.

"Don't worry about it. I think it's actually cool that you can talk to snakes."

Harry's heart lifted, "Really?"

"Yeah. If I'm ever near a snake, you can save me. You'll be useful, I tell you."

"Er-Okay." Harry said.

"Now, your mother and I are going out to dinner at about…five, so take care of everyone, alright? Don't stir up trouble."

"Got it, Dad."

"Monica's sleeping over at her friend's house but she should be back in an hour or so. If she says anything to you, just ignore it. You know how she is."

"Yes I do."

"And don't trap yourself in here. You'll go mad. Come downstairs."

"I will. Let m just finish this essay." Harry pointed to the half-written parchment.

"You're doing your homework? Weirdo. I never did my homework."

"Then how'd you get it doen?"

"I copied Moony's work."

"He must have been furious."

"Oh he was, but he wouldn't let me fail."

That reminded Harry of Hermione. _Hermione…oh, she must be so worried about me.  
_

"Yeah, well, I would never copy the work off my friends. They're all duds."

Dad nodded, "True."

They sat in silence for a few seconds and then he got to his feet, "I'm leaving now. Have fun baby-sitting."

Harry smiled slightly. He wondered where they were going where they couldn't take their children. Weren't pregnant women supposed to stay home most of the time?

Believe it or not, Harry finished his homework the next hour and then went downstairs. Apparently, Monica was waiting for him.

"What?" Harry asked before she got a chance to open her mouth.

"A duel. You and me. Right now." Her hands landed on her hips.

Harry laughed, "You can't duel. You're not allowed to use your wand."

At the cue, Monica pulled out a long wand from her back pocket.

"You stole someone's wand?"

"No. It's Mum's. You're not getting away with what you did yesterday. Duel me."

"To death?" Harry said in disbelief.

"No, you dolt. Just until I break all your bones and have blood running all over your slimy skin."

Oh, that's a disgusting image, Harry thought.

"What do you say?"

Harry didn't think twice before he said, "You're on. In the empty room."

She was going to lose. He knew it. He might not be good at sword dueling but he did know how to use a wand.

They faced each other formally and held their wands up. Harry didn't see a glimpse of fear in Monica's eyes or any uncertainty from her poise.

"Ready-" Harry started, but an unexpected voice interrupted him, "What are you doing?" Mase walked in with curiosity.

"Nothing, just playing sweetie. Go back to your room." Monica said softly.

"No, I want to watch!" Mase whined.

"Let him stay. Nothing will happen."

"Or so you say." Monica spat out, "He could get hurt."

"I thought you said you were playing!"

"We are, and yes, you can stay. Just don't get in the middle." Monica said. She flicked her wand, sparks igniting at the tip of the wand, and opened her mouth. A red jet of light emitted across the room. Harry quickly deflected it and Disapparated. He appeared right behind her and pushed her with as much force as he needed so she would tilt. Harry yelled, "_Absumo!_"

Monica fell flat face on the floor with a heavy thud, screams pouring out of her mouth. A hand bent upwards and she pushed herself to her feet.

Harry smirked. His sister's whole face was spot red, much like the time when Marrietta Edgecombe had been covered with purple pimples. Monica felt her face, and immediately, her nose flared and gaze was fixed on Harry.

"You-" Another spell was shot at him and he ducked in instinct. He muttered an incantation and yellow light erupted from his wand. Before Harry had time to see whether it made contact with her, Mase amidst them and exclaimed, "Ooh! Yellow light! I wanna try!"

"No, Mase! Get out of-"

Harry was cut short by a forceful blast to his back. It was his turn to dive deep to the floor. The pain was equal to a magnitude of a thousand bees sucking blood from his back. His hands balled up in fists and eyes surrounded with the intensity. Where the hell had she learned a spell like that?

"You'll pay for that!" Harry bellowed, still on the ground, and screamed, "_Levicorpus!"_

The sight was sweet. Monica dangled in the air as he watched from ground level. Her arms and legs wiggled all around as she egged, "Let me down, you scoundrel!"

"Say 'My brother is the ultimate dueling champion' and I'll let you down."

"Never!" She pushed her legs down but the attempt was horribly futile.

"Fine then. You'll have fun up there. Maybe I should get you a cloth so you can clean that ceiling. I do believe I see some spider webs up there."

"Shut up you prick! Get me down now!"

"WHAT IN THE NAME OF MERLIN IS GOING ON HERE!"

Both heads turned to the source of the voice and found their father with a on-fire-furious expression. Harry would never do anything wrong again if he had to see that face…

Dad muttered the countercurse and Monica came down slowly.

"Dad. What are you doing here?" Harry said sweetly.

"Oh, I don't know, just saw some strands of light and thought YOU'D GOTTEN ATTACKED!"

"Okay okay."

"Explain yourselves." Mum said, folding her arms.

"Nothing Mum. Just entertaining ourselves." Harry said.

"Yeah, you know, just some bro-sis time." Monica followed.

"Right. Bro-sis time," Dad mocked, "The time when you act like brother and sister will be the day I walk around with an artificial duck head."

Mase giggled, but stopped when Mum gave him a warning look.

"How many times have we told you not to fight! You could kill yourselves, you fools! Wait-is that my wand? Give that to me!"

Monica cautiously walked to her mother and held out the wand. With a swift motion, Mum snatched it.

"You two, you're not going anywhere until school starts. That's your punishment."

"WHAT?" Monica freaked, "That's not fair! If you didn't notice, I was the one dangling in the air!"

"I don't care." Dad said callously, "You both were fighting-"

"They said they were playing." Mase interrupted.

"-and lying. Anything else?"

"He turned my face red!" Monica pointed at Harry.

"She put some bozo spell on my back!" Harry yelled.

"I wanna play!" Mase screamed.

Dad performed the strangest action. He closed his eyes and counted to ten out loud, followed by, "It's okay…just calm down…"

"You can be calm all you want!' Mum said, "Both of you go to your rooms and don't come down until the next morning! Go!"

In a straight line, the three children walked upstairs, and just as Monica and Harry were about to go into their rooms, Monica voiced a thought, "I hate you."

"That's nothing I haven't heard before." Harry said, and closed the door behind him as he entered his room.


	5. A Game of Tag

Harry didn't even think of where he was going. All he knew was that he had to leave the house and leave behind the negative energy that had crept inside his body, acting like a chronic and infectious virus Harry understood his parent's anger, but the hatred his sister had for him he could never comprehend. Why should another Harry's actions affect his stay with parents he had never been around before? If only he could go back further in time to find out what the fake Harry had been like...

No. He had to return to his real home...What home? The Burrow? The Durlseys? Grimmauld Place? He had no one...except for Ron and Hermione, but they were just friends...No matter what measures he took, he was never going to have as much as other people. Harry couldn't leave with those disappointing looks on his parent's faces. He knew what they were thinking at that exact moment: _What had they done wrong in raising their Harry?_ _That boy has no common sense and no respect for his brothers and sisters._

Harry shook his head in shame as he glanced at his surroundings, noticing how peaceful it was. The air had the perfect amount of moist. The clouds were partly shielding the sun's rays, forming wide cotton-like shapes. The thin layer of grass was emitting a waft of earthy and raindrop scents. He chose a flat spot, bereft of a cluster of weeds, and sat down with his legs stretched out. The grass wasn't as sharp as he'd thought, half expecting it to prick him like everything else had for the past few weeks.

A few minutes hadn't even passed before Harry perceived two miniscule figures in the distance, approaching him at a fast and childish pace. The twins...uh, exactly what he needed right now...

"Harry, Harry, Harry!" Clint yelled repeatedly, while Mase asked vociferously, "Teach me that yellow light! I want to learn!"

"That's the first time I've heard the world 'learn' come from a kid's mouth." Harry muttered as the twins were now a few paces from him. Both began pulling at his arms to the point where he was on his feet again. He had to admit that he felt like smacking the both of them. It had, after all, been their fault that he had gotten into trouble.

But as he stared at them, his resentment melted away in an instant. They were so small, so goofy, so innocent...How could he have ever thought about hitting them? This was what normal kids were supposed to act like. Only he had experienced a strange life with a horrid childhood; he could not remember ever sitting on a bicycle seat.

"I can't do magic anymore, but if you want, I'll play a game with you."

After they gave hoots of agreement, Harry explained the game of tag (Harry knew they had not listened) and then chased them, keeping in their haunting distance like a ghost. They were fast, so fast that he became tired and had to stop to catch a breath.

"Ha ha ha ha! You stink!" Mase teased him.

"Fine..." Harry panted, bending his knees slightly, "I give up."

Mase came running to him to tease him some more, and Harry got his chance. He tagged his brother's shoulder and laughed like a maniac, "Ha ha ha ha! That's the oldest trick in the book! Now you're it!"

Harry's youth had invited itself back and his heart had lifted a great amount, comparing with ten minutes before. Mase ended up chasing him and Clint all the way back to their house. Mase had become so good at the game that Harry didn't have to let him win - he would win anyway. Harry found a place to hide behind an unusual thick looking plant with faded pink petals. He was lucky to be so thin.

As he stood there as still as a statue, Clint peeked over and saw him behind the plant. Turning around, he bellowed, "Behind the plarisies! Behind the plarisies! Mommy's favorite plants! Get him!"

"YOU'RE NOT TEAMED UP!" Harry screamed, laughing his head off as he sprinted across the backyard, to the porch, and skipped into the house without thinking of the presence of their parents. All he could think of was hiding from Clint and Mase. The bad luck eventually ended up being in the kitchen, the room the backdoor lead to. There were his parents and their furious expressions...and Mr. Weasley?

"Mr. Weasley?" Harry blurted.

"Yes, how did you know?"

"Uh...Dad told me about you."

"No I did not." Dad snapped, glaring at him. Perhaps he would have gone along with Harry's story if he hadn't been so angry.

"And what are you doing, coming from outside? I thought we told you to stay upstairs and-"

At that moment, the twins burst in, screaming, "There you are!"

Dad shook his head, while Mum followed their screaming, "Harry! You took your brothers outside? You are the worst! Is this the kind of example you intend to be for your younger siblings?"

So he did know something about his Mum and Dad after all...

"No. I needed to clear my head, so I went out in the hallway, but ended up Disapparating outside, and they-" Harry pointed at the twins, "came looking for me."

"You expect us to believe that? You're excellent at Apparating! Do not come down this time, or outside, until we're ready to talk to you! I'll have your food sent up when i think you need to eat."

"Yes, Mum." Harry grumbled, and led Clint and Mase out of the kitchen. Just as Harry was ready to hit the stairs, he heard a loud CRACK originating from the kitchen. Someone had Apparated. Harry knew he shouldn't have stayed to snoop, but he couldn't help it. Every event that occurred in this house contributed to teaching him about his family. However, he heard one voice he had never expected. It was high pitched, too high for it to be Marissa, it was-

Hermione.

Harry practically ran to the kitchen. There they were - Ron and Hermione, gazing at the sights in front of them with utter confabulation evident in their eyes. Harry had never been happier. He swore he was standing on clouds. Ron and Hermione were showered with hope and meaning. All desire of wanting to live in this illusion left him.

"Ron!" Mr. Weasley said, startled by his son's appearance, and turned to Hermione, "Who is this lady?"

Ron's eyes widened at the sight of his father, "Uh, hi Dad. She-uh, Hermione, is a friend from Hogwarts, as is Harry."

"Really? Harry never mentioned you." Harry's Dad said, giving him a calculating look.

"Well, not close friends, Mr. Potter," Hermione jumped in, and Harry knew this would save him, "We need to discuss something about the item list for this year. He called us over yesterday but we were both busy, so we -erm-decided to come today. I'm terribly sorry we didn't leave an Intruder Charm at first."

Dad was impressed by her maturity and hospitality; it was as effective as a spell. "It is quite alright...Hermione? Seat yourselves in the living room, but do keep in mind that Harry only has ten minutes to talk. The rest of his life will take place in his room."

Ron raised his eyes in surprise, looking to Harry for an answer which he didn't receive.

"That's okay, Mr. Potter. I am sure it won't take long." Hermione assured Dad and then signaled Harry to go into the living room.

"What were you thinking, coming-"

"Have you lost your-"

"Thank Merlin you two found me! I mean, obviously, I knew I'd be able to get back, but I can't pretend I wasn't worried!" Harry said, louder than the others.

"Shh! They'll get suspicious." Hermione scolded, making no notion of sitting down. Ron, on the other hand, did.

"Oh, I think they already are. Did you see the look on Dad's face? I mean, the Dad here. I mean-oh, I'm so confused!" Ron showered with frustration, "And what were you doing, thinking of pulling something like this? Are you mad? How could you have even thought about deserting us?" Ron rambled.

Harry covered his face. Everything was such a mess.

"Harry. Harry." Hermione shook his arms to reveal his face, "Forget everything Ron said. Listen. We need to get you back. It is dangerous staying here."

Harry frowned, "What do you mean?"

"The longer you stay in an illusionary world like this, the more you become attached to it and less the desire becomes to return back."

"What are you talking about? The second I saw you, I felt like going back home with you two."

Hermione sighed, "That might be, but I still think we should take you back. I don't like you staying here where you're treated differently."

"So, you ready to go?" Ron asked.

Harry nodded, taking deep breaths. Of course he was ready. He himself had thought about leaving everything here and returning just minutes ago. Surely he didn't want to stay here? But the more he thought about it, the more he realized...

"I-" Harry paused reluctantly, "can't."

"WHAT?" Ron jumped up from the couch.

Harry heard Hermione whisper 'relax' before he explained, "I have so many things to do, so many people to talk to. I need to apologize to Lupin and tell him I would never divulge his secrets to someone else. I need to fix things with my sister and get her to like me. I need to spend more time with-Sirius. There are many things I need to learn and experience before I can go back. You should leave before they get curious."

Hermione looked at Ron worriedly, expecting him to return that look, but he was too busy staring at Harry with an open mouth.

"Wait a minute...did you say sisters? Were those twins your brothers also?" Ron interrogated.

Harry nodded, leaving Ron astounded.

"No." Hermione stood her ground, interrupting their little side discussion, "We are not leaving without you."

Ron nodded, "That's right."

"Seriously. Go."

Hermione folded her arms and shot him an I-don't-think-so glare, "We have a problem then."

"Look, I know what you're thinking-" Harry started, but Hermione cut in, "Do you really? Tell me, what am I thinking?"

"That I'm terribly irresponsible to run off without telling anyone and worrying you to death. Right?"

"Wrong." Hermione whispered, as if it was too painful of what she was about to say, "I'm afraid that you came here because you feel you don't belong in our world, that we are not enough for you."

For the first time, his mouth could not open. He could not think of any retorts or replies that could justify her question. Honestly, he didn't know if it was true or not. He knew that moments ago when he had been outside, he had counted Ron and Hermione as _just_ friends...

"Tongue tied?" Hermione asked.

Harry turned to Ron, who looked extremely uncomfortable all of a sudden, being caught in the middle of the feud.

"Just come home. Please." Ron pleaded.

"We love you, Harry, and...we can't live without you. Please come back." Tears trailed down Hermione's cheek; her nose had turned red.

What guy could stand to see a girl cry?

"Alright, I'll come back...just not now. Give me a day."

Her nostrils flared.

"Half a day?"

She shook her head.

"An hour or two?"

A smile flickered as she shook her head, approaching Harry and practically collapsing onto him.


	6. The Time to Go Home

Harry knocked reluctantly on the withering door. He was uncertain about how this meeting was going to carry out. If the first five minutes of the conversation were anything similar to their last encounter, Harry assured himself he would make a run for it. 

His head tilted up. Even the weather seemed to comply with his mood. The bright sunlight that had hindered his eyesight an hour ago was now concealed by gloomy clouds moving at a fast pace. It was astonishing how so much had changed in such a small amount of time. Harry had mere minutes left before he had to go back to his real home. His mind was present on both sides. He wanted to leave, but he also had a desire for lingering around to let things unveil bit by bit. He was not sure he was ready to decide which desire was stronger.

After a few more knocks, Harry was ready to give up. He had just pivoted when the door flew open to reveal Lupin standing in front of him, bewildered.

"What are you doing here? I thought I had made my views on this matter perfectly clear."

"It's okay," Harry said, holding his hands up, "I don't expect you to forgive me. I know what I did was terrible. I'm just here to tell you one more time that I am ashamed of myself. I am really sorry for what I did. I don't know what I was thinking. I must not have been myself at the time."

"Really?" Lupin said with doubt in his voice.

"Yes, and if it makes this any better, I wanted to tell you that I ended things with Marissa. She was not a good person. If you want, I'll modify her memory so she won't know anymore, if you want."

"No, that's not necessary. It's not her fault." Lupin said coolly.

"I know, I know, it's mine. I'm really sorry. I completely understand you don't want to speak to me. I just have to go now. I am not going to see you for a long time now. Well, I will…but it will be a different me, at least in personality. Once again, I'm sorry. I hope you'll be okay-don't take this the wrong way, but I want you to know that I care about you a lot still, okay? Er-bye."

Without another word, Harry turned his back to Lupin, but not before Harry caught the confused look on his face. Lupin opened his mouth slightly, but then closed it. Harry felt as if someone had sucked out a fifty pound boulder out of his body. Well, that was one down…

…

In approximately ten minutes, he was back at the house where Ron and Hermione were eagerly waiting for him. Harry had advised them to stay in his room so his parents would think they were long gone. He was not expecting them to grant him a visit any time soon, considering how angry they were with him. Great, that was exactly what Harry needed before he left, everyone in a brawl with him.

"So, are you finished?" Ron said impatiently.

"Only with Lupin. He's still mad."

"Well, you're just going to have to deal with it."

"Thanks for the support, Ron."

Hermione intervened, "What are you going to tell your parents?"

"I really don't know. I guess I'll tell them the truth."

"Are you serious? Harry, it could immensely change the future." Hermione cautioned.

"Not if they modify each other's memories after it. I just can't lie to them anymore. I have to tell them who I am."

For a second, Harry saw Hermione tilt her head from side to side but then said, "That's your call."

"You want to do it alone or you want us to come with you?" Ron asked.

"Er - you can watch." Harry answered. He did not want his parents and his friends in the same room. It would feel as if he was choosing one over the other. "Just hang by the stairs."

Harry sighed and began walking down the staircase. His nervous feet were stomping slowly down their way. He called out finally, "Mum? Dad? MUM? DAD?"

Dad poked his head out of the kitchen, and Harry could have sworn he saw a green vein pop out of his father's forehead.

"What the bleeding hell are you doing? We told you to stay in your room! This is getting ridiculous! Lily, you say something to him and fix his brains because I certainly can't do it."

Mum made her entry with as much distaste as Dad, "Boy, how many times do we have to tell you? Stay in your room. If you don't, I will-"

"Stop! Just stop!" Harry shrieked. "I cannot take this anymore. A month ago I would have done anything to have parents, and I did what I needed to, but now it's not worth it. I have to go back. This world has meddled and confounded my brain."

Both his parents looked out him as if he was insane.

"Okay, look. I have to tell you something. You have to believe it. We're magical, remember? We can do anything."

So he told them. He started from where and what kind of world he actually came from, a world with no parents, no godfather, a Wormtail that was a Death Eater and a powerful wizard Voldemort that had tried to kill him four times in the past. They sat down and listened intently, as if Harry was giving a lecture at Hogwarts.

He then progressed to inform them that he had used a Time Bender to get there, and that he hadn't known anything about his siblings or the random unfortunate situations he had been placed in.

Dad interrupted his story to ask a question, "So, wait a minute. In this world, we are dead? When? How? What, do we get ourselves in some magical mess?"

"Uh…" Harry stuttered, not sure if he wanted to tell them, "Not exactly."

"Then how?" James asked.

"I don't think you want to know."

There was an uncomfortable silence that swept the kitchen for a moment. Harry was surprised they were taking his news so well, actually. He had been expecting them to faint to the spot.

"We were murdered," Mum broke the silence, "weren't we?"

"What?" James whirled about, "that's ridiculous…Well, not for me, considering what I do, but why would someone try to kill you?" Dad said, eyeing his wife. She shrugged.

"Because he – Voldemort - wanted to kill me when I was a baby."

Harry got the reaction he had been expecting.

"What! That's absurd – Why would he want to kill a baby?"

"Because of this prophecy – look, I don't want to get in-depth with this, it'll only upset you. The point is, I came here because I never had parents, I'd never had memories of you, except the excessive green light I would see in my nightmares."

Mum and Dad glanced at each other, not knowing what to say.

"I'm sorry that I didn't tell you before, but I thought you would treat me differently, if I did, or worse, hex me. I have what I came for. Memories. Memories of Dad and I dueling, shopping, playing Quidditch. Mum, I had fun helping you cook and do the laundry Muggle-style. So what if I had my let downs – I had fun."

At that moment, Monica stumbled into the kitchen. "What's going on? I heard Dad yelling. Oh, are you punishing him some more? Oh, goody!"

"My prime let down." Harry commented, and Mum and Dad smiled. Monica became suspicious.

"Really, what's going on? Why do you two look so calm?"

"Harry just told us something exceptional. He's from another world." Mum said.

"REALLY? That explains everything. From what planet?"

"Give it a rest, Monica. He just told us that he's from an alternate reality where there's no us, no you, no twins, no Sirius."

"Apparently, half of us are murdered." Mum said gravely. Monica's eyes widened, but something crept up on her face.

"Wait, Is that why you can speak Parseltongue?"

"Aho!" Dad exclaimed. "That would certainly explain it! Is that it, son?"

Harry nodded, "You were right. The Parseltongue doesn't come from you. It comes from Voldemort, who is the last surviving ancestor of Slytherin. When he attacked me, he transferred half of his power to me. That's why I have this scar."

"What scar?" Dad asked. Harry slid his hair to his side and let them witness the lightning shaped bolt on his forehead.

"Blimey, that is extraordinary." Dad said, while Mum was at a loss for words.

"Who is this Voldemort?" Monica inquired, who herself had taken a seat.

"An incredibly powerful Dark wizard."

"So that also explains why you're so good at dueling. I was quite surprised earlier. Why'd you come here?"

Harry was surprised at Monica's curiosity. He thought it would take her a longer time to believe him. Perhaps she had noticed a difference in him.

"Well," Mum said, as a matter of factly, "now it makes sense why you were acting so strangely. Not at all your usual pompous conceited qualities."

Harry laughed, "It was really hard to keep in character, especially when I didn't know what the Harry was here like. I must have been really bad, if I took the way Monica treated me as a measurement."

"Oh yeah…um, I'm sorry?" Monica trailed on uncertainly.

Harry laughed again, "It's okay. But hey, it's not like your attitude was any better, and you belong here."

"Only to you I'm that vicious. You're a special case."

Harry couldn't believe it. Monica had said something nice to him for the first time ever.

"Okay then, I guess it's time to go." Harry said heavily, "Where are the twins? I want to say goodbye. And Sirius, for that matter."

"Uh, Sirius is at work." Dad said sympathetically.

"Okay. When is he coming back?"

"Late night, I think."

"Oh." Harry stayed quite for a moment and then spoke, "Maybe I can stick around until then. Hold on…" Harry leaned his head back and looked at Ron and Hermione. They shook their heads furiously.

"Never mind…can you - can you just tell him that…well, that-"

"Yeah. I will." Dad said, knowing what Harry meant.

Harry got to his feet. As he left the kitchen, the entire family followed, including the twins, whom Mum had gone upstairs to get. They were a bit startled when they saw Ron and Hermione perched on the top step. Harry told them about his friends and how they had come to bring him back.

Harry said goodbye to the twins, kissing both of them on their cheeks, and then faced Ron and Hermione.

"So, how do we do this?" Harry gulped, feeling the emotion rising up his throat.

"All we have to do is think of the place where we want to go and we'll be there because we've all made contracts with the Benders." Hermione said, "so just close your eyes and imagine the place."

Harry gave a final glance at Mum, Dad, Monica, and the twins, and then closed his eyes. He tried to picture the Burrow, the place that he'd spent so much time in that house it had become his home. The innumerable windows, the ghoul in the attic that would howl in the midst of night, the constant crashes and explosions that would emanate from Fred and George's room…But when he thought of Fred and George, Monica's face interrupted his thoughts. All the thoughts of them fighting and arguing flooded through, followed by the twins chasing after him in their backyard. He reminisced the afternoon that Dad had gashed his cheek with a sword in the living room, which had been the setting for Harry's first sword duel.

Harry opened his eyes. The Potter family was still standing in front of him. He poked Ron and his eyes flew open as well.

"Why isn't it working?" Ron asked him.

"I don't know. Hermione?"

Hermione raised her eyes at Harry, as if they said 'it's all you fault'. "You're not thinking of it clearly. Try to focus on the place, or maybe a memory."

He inhaled deeply, "I don't think that will work. I keep on thinking of memories here."

Hermione gave Ron a worried look.

"Maybe if you hold each other's hands? Maybe the power, or whatever it is, will transfer through each other." Mum suggested.

"Okay." Harry said, and grabbed Ron's hand, feeling a bit strange.

iThink, think, think/i, Harry told himself as he held Ron's hand. He imagined himself playing Quidditch with Ron and the Weasley family, but the image of his Mum and Dad pressured back into his head.

An eternity must have passed as the three of them stood erect at the spot, trying to return to their home. With frustration, Harry opened his eyes and punched the chair nearest to him, later regretting it because of the jolt of pain.

"What if we never get back?" Ron panicked, "What if we're stuck here forever? That would be horrible!"

"Both of you stay calm." Hermione advised, "We all know why it's not working."

"We do?" Ron said.

"It's because Harry does not want to leave." Hermione said simply.

"What? Yes I do!" Harry protested.

"In your head, maybe you do, but your heart desires to be here."

"What are we going to do?"

Hermione sat down, "I don't know. Until you have a change of heart, we're going to have to wait it out."

Everyone took a seat also. None of them moved for almost an hour, mostly spending the time staring at each other. In his mind, Harry produced a pro and con list of the advantages and disadvantages of staying or leaving. There were many choices on both sides, but they dissolved rather quickly as other memories crept up.

"Alright," Lily said, after quite some time, "Maybe I can help. Think of it this way: You do not belong here. This is not your world. It is not fair that you spend 17 years of your life in one world and then leave it for another just because your desire for it is strong. In a way this world isn't real for you, it might look real, but it's only an illusion."

"Yeah, okay." Harry nodded, "That helps."

"We love you, Harry," James piped in, "but you must return to your own world. From what you told me, it seems that you still have many tasks left to take care of. The whole world is depending on you. You cannot let them down. Think of your friends. How would they ever live without you? Friendship is the soul of life."

Hermione, Ron, and Harry looked at each other uncomfortably. That was exactly how Harry felt about them. His thoughts had recently changed because this new life had gotten in the way. How could he have thought of leaving Ron and Hermione for a fake world? He knew he had to go back, and Dad was right; the whole world depended on him. If he didn't go back, people would keep on dying by the hands of evil. He had to go back to his world, the world he had spent seventeen years in.

Suddenly, something bizarre happened. He felt himself fading away slowly. All the people sitting in front of him were distorted, and then became white mist. For a second, Harry thought he had fainted, but the next time he opened his eyes he saw that he was in his room in Grimmauld Place.

After a minute or so, Ron and Hermione also materialized out of thin air. Hermione walked over to him and embraced him.

"We knew we could count on you, Harry. Just know we love you."

"And I'm sorry too. If it means anything, you two are ten times as worth as my whole family combined. You've always been with me, wherever I go."

Ron and Hermione smiled genially.

"So…what do you want to do?" Hermione asked.

"Quidditch."

"Chess."

Ron and Harry said at the both time. They laughed and walked out of Harry's room together. Harry could go to any world and see any person he had strived to catch a glimpse, but at the end of the day, nothing made his heart more warm than being next to Ron and Hermione.

THE END

To any readers that are left (hopefully) - I am incredibly sorry for the long wait for this last chapter but I was quite busy with things that I don't want to bore anyone with. Thank you endlessly for all the reviews, I appreciate them so much. I hope you enjoyed it. Don't forget to review!


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